Knicks gonna Knicks.
The New York Knicks registered interest in the Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried last season. We know this. But what many didn’t know is that they apparently came off as desperate.
Per BasketballInsiders.com Steve Kyler (h/t FanSided.com):
.@EricKosmack: @LangGreene was there any truth to rumors during season of faried for shumpert —> Knicks tried. They tried for a lot.
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) September 6, 2014
This would seem to make sense.
Back in February, when rumors first surfaced, it appeared the Knicks were the ones who started talks:
J.R. Smith is starting & Iman Shumpert could be departing. I'm hearing Knicks-Nuggets continue to discuss an Iman for Kenneth Faried trade.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) November 13, 2013
Moreover, it was apparently the Nuggets who ended talks:
Denver has made it clear to Kenneth Faried's reps: There are no active talks involving him. Knicks offered Shumpert. Denver rejected idea.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 13, 2013
Typical Knicks: not just desperate, but obviously desperate. Well, not anymore. Phil Jackson won’t play that game. He’s more of the hard-to-get type. He bends to no one…unless he’s instructing a Yoga class.
Months later, this tidbit is pretty much useless. It’s still interesting, though. If nothing else, it’s a reminder of how unbelievably confusing the Knicks were for most of last season, pre-Jackson, pre-direction, pre-we-actually-care-we-swear.
Faried was a weird choice at the time. The Knicks were playing small ball. Anthony was spending a lot of time at small forward, but even when they weren’t running him at the 4, they were still hoisting threes with in-J.R.-Smith’s-dreams volume. Faried would have never been conducive with that approach.
The awesome-haired, endlessly energetic power forward has an ugly-looking jump shot. It’s improved slightly, but not enough. He’s also too short for the center position, so with him in the lineup, the Knicks’ floor spacing would have gone to shit.
Defense also figured to be an issue—a bigger issue than it already was. Faried isn’t a shot-blocker, nor is he particularly good at reading pick-and-rolls and providing help defense. Flipping Iman Shumpert for his services may have been defensive suicide.
It’s not like Shumpert proved to be the second coming of Lance Stephenson or anything, but he wasn’t just one of the team’s best perimeter defenders; he was one of their only perimeter defenders. Trading him for someone like Faried wouldn’t have felt right.
Especially if it cost more than him.
Would the Nuggets, after repeatedly rebuffing the Knicks’ trade overtures, suddenly have had a change of heart? Maybe, but it’s unlikely. Faried could have cost the Knicks another piece, like a 2017 draft pick or something. That would have been a disaster.
None of which is meant to undermine Faried’s abilities. Again, the energy is there, and it’s glorious. And effective. And awesome. But the Knicks didn’t need what he brings. They still don’t. The Nuggets, in essence, did them a favor, ensuring the Knicks didn’t get in their own way, like they were wont to do before Jackson was calling the shots.
So here’s to the trade that wasn’t.
More importantly, if the Nuggets—who later wound up trading for wingman Jordan Hamilton—were truly turned off by the offer, here’s to the trade that never could have been.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
